Canutillo Independent School District trustees could fire embattled Superintendent Damon Murphy at a special meeting Thursday.

After hearing a report from the district's internal auditor at a special meeting Monday night, the board scheduled another meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday for "discussion with and receive report from internal auditor regarding review of transfer credit process, procedures and student cohort information."

Upon hearing the auditor's report on Thursday, the board will go into closed session for discussions with their lawyer, then return to open session for "discussion and possible action regarding superintendent's contract of employment and employment status with Canutillo ISD," according to the agenda.

"The Canutillo Independent School District has received preliminary information from its legal counsel and internal auditor staff regarding an ongoing investigation," school board President Armando Rodriguez said in a statement to the El Paso Times.

"We expect a final audit report on those issues to be completed and presented to the board on Thursday. The agenda posted tonight is written in a manner that will allow the board to act accordingly if it is determined that immediate action is necessary. "

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Murphy, who was selected to lead the Canutillo ISD in January 2010, has been under fire for his alleged role in a cheating scandal at the El Paso Independent School District that pushed some students out of school, prevented some from enrolling and kept others in ninth grade even if they had enough credits to be classified as sophomores. The scheme reduced the pool of 10th grade students taking the state's standardized test, which helps determine whether districts and campuses meet federal accountability standards.

Murphy, who has repeatedly declined requests for interviews with the El Paso Times, would only say through a district spokesman he was surprised by the board's decision to schedule a meeting.

Thursday's meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Canutillo administrative offices, 7965 Artcraft. The meeting is open to the public, though parts may be closed for executive session.

Murphy is paid $170,000 a year under his contract with the Canutillo ISD, which runs through June 2014.

Canutillo ISD trustees have said that they must remain focused on Murphy's performance at their school district and cannot take actions against him for allegations of misconduct at another school district.

Canutillo ISD Superintendent Damon Murphy listens to board members at a special meeting held Monday night. He was selected to lead the district in January 2010. (Photo by Bob Moore / El Paso Times)

Former EPISD Superintendent Lorenzo García is now serving a 3 1/2-year federal prison term after pleading guilty in June to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, including scheming with at least six unnamed co-conspirators to manipulate the federal accountability system.

Before coming to Canutillo, Murphy was the associate superintendent for secondary and priority schools at the EPISD under García. The cheating scheme originated at the district's low-performing high school campuses, known as priority schools.

Federal authorities continue investigating the cheating scheme and have not charged Murphy, but employees and district documents have implicated him in the scheme. The district's former interim superintendent, Terri Jordan, specifically mentioned Murphy in an April news conference about possible wrongdoing at the district.

Jordan, who called the news conference hours after releasing 1,500 pages of documents to the El Paso Times requested through the state's Public Information Act, cited a "stunning and deeply troubling directive" from Murphy.

The directive ordered that students transferring to EPISD from out of the country be held for a year in ninth grade even if their transfer credits made them eligible for a higher grade. Jordan said the email he sent principals and other administrators attempted "to wrongfully hold students in the ninth grade."

"Such an order disregards district policy and causes great harm to children who have received some education in another country and who should be immediately placed in the correct grade," Jordan said.

Federal accountability ratings for high schools are based on 10th grade test scores, and federal officials have focused their investigation on whether EPISD officials conspired to keep struggling 10th-graders from taking that accountability test.

Jordan, who has returned to her role as chief of staff at the school district, has repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether she was involved in the effort to inflate student scores or knew of the cheating.

García is the only person charged so far with participating in the cheating scheme, but the school district forced several EPISD employees to retire or resign after Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams warned in October that the district's inaction would trigger further sanctions.

Williams also publicly cautioned in an interview with the El Paso Times that other districts whose leaders were part of García's regime during the cheating scandal needed to carefully consider whether they were going to continue to employ those educators.

"We're not going to allow this scandal to repeat itself anywhere else in this state," Williams said at the time.

In a Nov. 6 letter to Williams, Canutillo trustees said the school board had not heard directly from the commissioner about any personnel action he expected them to take. They wrote that the school board was "concerned that you expect some action on our part because our current superintendent worked at EPISD and press reports have discussed his employment at EPISD."

"As a board, we are careful and take proper steps to ensure that our internal audit function is properly structured," then-Board President Laure Searls wrote. "We are also careful to review CISD policies and practices regarding student transfers and credit review. We continue to monitor this aspect of our administration on an ongoing basis. If you or your office has information upon which you believe that we should act, please contact me or our legal counsel as soon as possible."

Rodriguez, the current school board president, said Monday that the district had not received a response from Williams.

Rodriguez previously stated his concern to the Times with what he had read and heard about Murphy's potential involvement in the cheating scandal but he said the school board's hands were tied until it received findings from the investigating agencies.

Zahira Torres may be reached at ztorres@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.